Why an early stumble did not shake Colo-NESCO hurdler Breckin Clatt

Colo-NESCO's Breckin Clatt was feeling dejected following the boys 400-meter hurdles at the March 28 Colfax-Mingo Invitational to open the outdoor track season.

Clatt had qualified for state in the 400 hurdles last year as a sophomore. He felt good going into the race, but as he neared the finish line he suddenly collapsed.

"My legs just gave out," said Clatt. "I thought it was going to be a bad year.”

Clatt said he felt like he was in good shape entering the meet. But that was not the case.

At the end of December Clatt had opted to have surgery on his injured left wrist. That cost him the remainder of the basketball season and set him back a little physically.

Though he still is not fully healed, Clatt was ready to compete in time for track and field season. But with the weather being inconsistent in March, he did not get the proper amount of conditioning before the outdoor season began.

Clatt may have been dejected following his stumble at Colfax, but it did not take long for him to pick himself up.

“I started practicing a lot harder,” Clatt said. “Some teachers and coaches talked to me, and Jack (Angell) was competing with me the whole time.”

Angell is Clatt's biggest supporter. He runs the shuttle hurdle relay with Clatt, and he was not about to let his anchor runner give up on the season just like that.

“I know he was pretty worried about it,” said Angell. “I told him to keep your head up, it happens to everybody.”

Clatt has gotten a lot better over the past two weeks as his speed has picked up.

“When he starts his 400 low (hurdles) he goes out really fast,” said Colo-NESCO coach Tony Stalzer. “Sometimes a little faster than what I’d like to see.”

Clatt ran a season-best 400 hurdles time of 58.54 seconds last Tuesday at the Collins-Maxwell Co-Ed Invitational in Maxwell. He clocked in at 59.18 during Friday's Dave Robinson Relays, hosted by Colo-NESCO, at Cub Stadium in Nevada.

More: Top 15 Ames-area Iowa high school boys track and field athletes ahead of the 2024 season

A big reason for Clatt's quick turnaround is his friendly rivalry with Collins-Maxwell's Lane Oswalt. Oswalt won the 400 hurdles at the Dave Robinson Relays with a time of 58.13.

“It’s a pleasure to run against him,” said Oswalt. “It allows us to push ourselves and keep going.”

The two runners bring out the best in each other.

"It’s fun to race with a friend," Oswalt said. "As long as one of us wins. If either me or Breckin wins the race, I’m happy."

Clatt said their rivalry will help get him back to state.

“Lane Oswalt is going to compete with me the whole time,” Clatt said. “Us pushing each other is just going to help a lot.”

Clatt is focusing on three things each race. If he can execute those, he likes his chances of returning to the Blue Oval at Drake Stadium in Des Moines next month.

“Work hard in practice, make sure I get over the hurdles without hitting them, and just finish the race,” Clatt said. “I want to go to state. I want to run a 56.5 or a 55.8, something like that. I want to get top 10, but I guess we’ll have to see.”

More: Meet the Roland-Story girls golf team, a talented unit going for another 2A state title

The 400 hurdles is not the only race he hopes to compete in at state. Colo-NESCO has a long-standing tradition of sending its shuttle hurdle team to state.

“The shuttle hurdle relay is what we’ve hung our hat on in the past,” Stalzer said. “I don’t know why, but I think it goes back to 2007, the first year that the boys had the shuttle hurdle as an event. It’s just kind of kept rolling.”

The Royals have not competed in the Class 1A boys shuttle hurdle relay at state since 2019. Clatt is hopeful with the help of Angell, Mark Bower and Reece Fulton they can make it back.

“We’ve had pretty good teams, we just needed that one more person,” Clatt said. “We’ve got a sophomore coming up (Fulton), and I think we’re going to great either this year, or next year for sure. We’ve got to get to state.”

No matter how things wind up for Clatt, Stalzer is happy he is out there racing and contributing to his team.

“He just goes 100 miles an hour,” Stalzer said. “Whatever he’s doing, he goes hard. He’s a competitor, and he’s gotten onto something he enjoys doing, which is a big part of it.”

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Early stumble cannot keep Colo-NESCO hurdler Breckin Clatt down